Privacy laws that restrict the ability to make and record telephonic and other communications exist in the United States, as well as other countries, and vary significantly from jurisdiction to jurisdiction.
Certain Do Not Call marketing privacy laws referenced in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,130,937, 6,788,773, 7,158,630, 7,194,075 and 7,574,471 require marketers to restrict, enable, manage and otherwise apply specific treatment and business processes to marketing communications based on the jurisdiction associated with the party they are communicating with.
These Do Not Call privacy laws dictate, among other things, which communications may be made, the time of day communications may be made, disclosures that must be delivered during communications, data that must be captured during communications, and minimum periods such captured data must be preserved.
Other marketing privacy regulations, including the U.S. Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) Telemarketing Sales Rule, require businesses to audio-record a consumer's telephonic authorization to enter into a transaction, such as a charge or recurring charge to a credit card or other account.
Certain regulatory authorities, including the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) in the United States and Financial Services Authority (FSA) in the United Kingdom, require audio-recording or “taping” of communications related to client orders, negotiations and transactions in the equity, bond and derivatives markets.
Similar statutes and regulations apply to other industries, such as the U.S. Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) “anti-slamming” rules that require telecommunications carriers to obtain and preserve audio verification of orders for telecommunications service for a minimum of two (2) years after obtaining verification.
Certain other consumer privacy laws, including the U.S. federal Telecommunications Act, require the consent of at least one party to a communication in order to allow recording or monitoring of the communication, while other more restrictive U.S. state laws, including California and Connecticut law, only permit monitoring or recording when all parties to the communication have provided consent. Disclosure that a call is or will be recorded or monitored is necessary for consent.
Disclosures of specific information are also required under many other consumer protection laws, including the FTC's Telemarketing Sales Rule, which requires businesses to clearly provide certain information before marketing to a consumer (ex. identify of seller, purpose of the call) or before a consumer pays for goods or services (ex. material restrictions, limitations or terms such as refund policy, negative option features, or number of debits, charges, or payments).
Certain businesses that are not required by law to record or monitor communications voluntarily do so for quality assurance and training purposes, and are thereby subject to privacy laws requiring disclosures and consent from one or more parties to the communication. Businesses required by law to audio-record or tape communications must also comply with these consent and disclosure requirements that vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction.
Similar privacy laws and industry requirements exist and have been proposed in other jurisdictions, including Australia, Canada and European Union countries, and vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction.
Similar to Do Not Call privacy laws, businesses using the telephone to contact consumers must restrict, enable, manage and otherwise apply specific treatment and business processes to marketing communications based on the jurisdiction associated with the party they are communicating with and/or the jurisdiction associated with the calls origin.
Preserving the ability to conduct business using the telephone while avoiding fines, criminal penalties and brand damage associated with violating these privacy and consumer protection laws and requirements is a critical and challenging issue for businesses.